The precise meanings of Japanese words or phrases.
3
votes
3answers
527 views
森 vs 林 for forest
According to A Guide to Remembering Japanese Characters, 森 (38) is woods and 林 (75) is forest.
But some material I've found online related to Japan seems to indicate 森 is the more correct Japanese ...
3
votes
2answers
150 views
Does 凝{こ}る mean “absorbed in” or “artistic” in this sentence?
My JLPT textbook gives me this example sentence to explain the meaning of 凝{こ}る:
釣{つ}りに凝{こ}る
The book provides a translation, which is, "be absorbed in fishing."
Later, in a test question, ...
3
votes
1answer
83 views
混信 and 干渉 difference in terms of communications and computing?
I read an article that had the sentence
1.9GHz帯を使うため、ZigBeeやWi-Fiで使われている2.4GHz帯の機器と干渉しないことが特徴。
I previously learned that 混信 means "interference" or "jamming". I saw this word used often. I'm ...
3
votes
1answer
274 views
What's the difference between 理系{りけい} , 理科{りか}, and 科学{かがく}?
In my dictionary, 理系{りけい}, 理科{りか}, and 科学{かがく} are defined simply as "science".
What, if anything, differentiates them?
Especially in terms of the feeling or nuance when used in everyday ...
3
votes
1answer
187 views
What is the meaning of 人児, and is it a compound?
There's this rather unpleasant sign on a restaurant that says:
中国人＆帰化人、残留孤児、中国系混血人児、絶対入店禁止、純血日本男児のみ。
Putting aside the racist content, from a linguistic point of view, the one word that throws ...
2
votes
1answer
98 views
What does 金 have in common with triggers/guns?
I read the word 「引き金」and the definition is:
１ 小銃・ピストルなどの、指で引く発射装置の金具。
２ ある事態を引き起こす直接の原因。きっかけ。「授業料の値上げが―となって大学紛争が起こった」
起因(きいん) ⇒類語辞書で詳しい使い方を調べる
誘因(ゆういん) 動機(どうき) モチーフ
But why is 金 ...
2
votes
1answer
90 views
What's the difference between 国家 and 国?
They both mean country don't they? I saw this phrase: 国家公安局部長。 When I looked it up 国家, the definition was just "country". So I'm not understanding the nuance between the two words.
2
votes
1answer
226 views
What is a シドギャ? ギャ doesn't mean girl, does it?
At first I thought ギャ meant girl, but after doing some googling, that doesn't appear to be what it is. What is シドギャ?
シドギャ is related to the band シド, the most popular Visual Kei rock band in Japan for ...
2
votes
2answers
164 views
Is there a difference between these words for “hero”?
I've learned that hero could be translated as:
ヒーロー
えいゆう
ゆうしゃ
けっし
Aside from ヒーロー (which seems just to be roumaji version of hero), is there any usage difference among them?
2
votes
2answers
392 views
What does ちょちょい mean?
I can't find this defined anywhere.
Here's an example:
タオルケットをちょちょいかけにきてくれる。
I am also interested in what this whole sentence says.
2
votes
1answer
132 views
Difference between 十分 and 十二分
Is there a clear difference between the meanings of 十分 and 十二分? I rarely have ever seen the second one. When should the second one be used and in what context?
EDIT: To avoid confusion, I'm talking ...
2
votes
1answer
88 views
What does コミュニケーションがとれる mean?
I tried looking up what 「コミュニケーションがとれる」 means, but from the examples that I've seen, all I can understand is that it just means "to communicate". Is there something more to this phrase that I'm not ...
2
votes
1answer
186 views
What does ぐぎぎmean?
I'm totally puzzled as to what this means, and I couldn't find any helpful hints when I searched through multiple websites. Does anyone else have a clue?
2
votes
1answer
180 views
How would you define っプル?
I have a fuzzy understanding that っぷる is something like っぽい (-ish) or っぷり (manner, style). Could you offer a more clear definition?
For example someone eating salad for dinner says:
...
1
vote
1answer
74 views
What is the difference between 流体 and 液体?
I'm unable to understand the difference between 液体 and 流体. Both sound like "fluid" to me, while the latter sounds like "flowing fluid" (if that makes sense). I had thought there was only 気体、液体、and 固体. ...
1
vote
1answer
106 views
What is the difference between こんにちは and もしもし?
I will be in Japan in a few weeks and I am trying to learn the basic to be as polite as possible.
One of the first things I did was try some basic stuff with Google Translate but I feel lost already.
...
1
vote
2answers
148 views
What does it mean to be “over a law”?
I was a little confused after reading this on Wikipedia article for 宇部港, a harbor in Ube, Yamaguchi:
港湾法{こうわんほう}上の重要港湾...に指定されている。
I'm really not used to reading very technical writing, so there ...
0
votes
1answer
105 views
Want to be sure I understand the nuance of 払{はら}う
払{はら}う has a number of meanings, but to summarize, it means to chase away or brush off. I often see it used in combinations like 追{お}い[払]{はら}う, "to chase off", or "to drive away".
I recently came ...
0
votes
1answer
166 views
How do I read the kanji in this ad for mascara?
On the train yesterday, I came across this ad, which is just for some mascara or whatever:
Sorry it's a little blurry. The text is 凛{りん}と際立{きわだ}つ艶ロング。
I'm just a little unclear on a couple of ...
0
votes
1answer
82 views
Not understanding 解{と}く in this sentence
This sentence comes from my JLPT practise book in a section explaining the use of 解{と}く:
練習{れんしゅう}問題{もんだい}は答{こた}えを見{み}ないで、自分{じぶん}で解{と}いてください。
I get that 解{と}く means to "unravel" or "solve", but ...
